How do you find the area of a parallelogram given vertices?

The area of a polygon is the number of square units inside the polygon. Area is 2-dimensional like a carpet or an area rug.

A parallelogram is a 4-sided shape formed by two pairs of parallel lines. Opposite sides are equal in length and opposite angles are equal in measure. To find the area of a parallelogram, multiply the base by the height. The formula is:

A = B * H where B is the base, H is the height, and * means multiply.

The base and height of a parallelogram must be perpendicular. However, the lateral sides of a parallelogram are not perpendicular to the base. Thus, a dotted line is drawn to represent the height. Let's look at some examples involving the area of a parallelogram.